MM Farooqui Hyderabad

Withthe conclusion of the Dasara festival, massive traffic congestion was witnessed on the major highways as a large number of people who travelled to their native places especially in Andhra Pradesh for the Dasara festival began their return journey.

Long queues of vehicles were witnessed, causing severe inconvenience to commuters. Heavy rush was also reported at key toll plazas where vehicles were made to wait for hours.

The National Highway 65, the Hyderabad – Vijayawada stretch triggered long bumper-to-bumper traffic across multiple stretches.

Traffic movement slowed significantly since Wednesday due to the surge in vehicles heading towards Hyderabad. Congestion was also reported at other places due to the heavy inflow of vehicles towards Hyderabad.

Traffic police and highway officials were seen making efforts to regulate vehicle movement and clear congestion at the affected stretch. However, due to the continuous inflow of vehicles returning after the Dasara holidays, traffic remained heavy for most of the day.

Although educational institutions are scheduled to reopen on October 23 after the Dasara holidays, many people had started their journey a day in advance to avoid congestion.

Traffic moved slowly near Choutuppal due to ongoing flyover bridge construction work, causing delays for vehicles heading towards Hyderabad.

Heavy traffic was also reported on the Nagpur, Mumbai and Warangal highways as commuters returned from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana districts, including Medak, Siddipet and Sangareddy.

Meanwhile, TGSRTC has finalised arrangements to handle the return journey rush starting October 22, with peak crowds expected over the weekend of October 25 and 26. To accommodate festival travellers across Telangana, the corporation is deploying over 7,000 special buses.

According to TGSRTC officials, the Karimnagar zone alone will operate 3,533 special services.

The regional breakdown includes 431 buses from Adilabad, 719 from Nizamabad, 1,175 from Karimnagar, 530 from Warangal, and 678 from Khammam.

The Hyderabad zone will operate 2,155 special buses, including 645 from Mahbubnagar, 255 from Medak, 815 from Nalgonda and 440 from Rangareddy. In addition, the Greater Hyderabad Zone will operate 1,312 special services.

Authorities have advised commuters to plan travel during off-peak hours and follow traffic advisories to avoid inconvenience. The traffic situation is expected to remain tense over the next two days as the festive exodus continues.